Reports: NYC cops rode with bikers who beat SUV driver

Edwin Mieses Jr., of Lawrence, Mass., suffered a broken spine and other injuries Sept. 29, 2013, when he was run over after an fearful SUV driver tried to flee a motorcycle rally in New York that turned violent.
(Photo: Family Photo via Gloria Allred/AP)

At least one New York police detective was riding with a motorcycle pack that chased and beat an SUV driver Sunday after a road-rage altercation but he did not intervene to stop the attack, law enforcement sources told news organizations.

One cop was an undercover officer who told superiors he did not get involved or call 911 because he did not want to be exposed, the Daily News and the New York Post reported. Sourcestold the Post he was not investigating the bikers but waited until Wednesday night to reveal he witnessed bikers attack 33-year-old Alexian Lien in front of his wife and 2-year-old daughter.

The Post said the undercover officer belongs to a motorcycle club called the Front Line Soldiers, whose members include several police officers. ABC News reportedhe was working narcotics.

The Daily News' sources said two officers -- and possibly two or three others -- were among the estimated 20 to 30 motorcyclists on the Henry Hudson Parkway when riders tried to slow traffic. LIen's Range Rover bumped one bike when he was cut off, and he accelerated to escape, hitting several riders and seriously injuring one.

Several bikers chased Lien four miles before catching up with him in Manhattan traffic, smashing his windows and severely beating him in Washington Heights.

A biker's helmet-cam video of the pursuit and assault went viral after being posted to YouTube. It had more than 6 million view by Friday.

The undercover officer's actions are being investigated by NYPD Internal Affairs.

A second biker, Robert Sims, surrendered Friday. He is believed to have yanked the vehicle's door open and also participated in the assault.,police said. A third rider remains a suspect.

The injured biker, 32-year-old Edwin "Jay" Mieses, of Lawrence, Mass., suffered a broken spine, torn aortic valve and a punctured lung when Lien ran him over. Doctors do not yet know if he will be paralyzed.